COUCH began in 1997 as an umbrella organization for the independent housing co-ops in the Champaign-Urbana area, but was also founded with the vision of creating a larger co-op community to advance co-oping, establish community, and achieve economies of scale within the co-op community. It currently consists of four houses:

(Urbana), a 14-member house, opened its doors as a member-controlled co-op house in August 2001.

(Urbana), a 9-member co-op, sprang from the ashes of the five-person Phoenix cooperative (2001-2010) in 2010, which had in turn sprung from the ashes of the previous Green House cooperative (1985-2001) in 2001.

(Urbana), founded around 1970, houses seven members and is the oldest independent co-op in Champaign-Urbana.